The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Turning Dorm Move-out From Wasteful To Charitable

As many students clean out their group houses, apartments or dormitory rooms at the end of the semester, they often find they have items that are either unwanted or difficult to transport home. Georgetown is one of several area schools that have partnered with local charities so that end-of-the-year castoffs can find a a new life in the homes of in-need families instead of landing in a dumpster. Knowing that many of these donations might have wound up in a landfill and are instead being put to good use is something that might help students reevaluate their own consumption habits. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/campus-overload/post/georgetown-gwu-and-umd-make-move-out-season-less-wasteful/2012/05/19/gIQAUlSIbU_blog.html?wprss=rss_campus-overload

New Dorm Building Changes The City Skyline

The new dorm tower at Massachusetts College of Art and Design is the most interesting Boston high-rise in years. Even though it isn’t finished, it’s already an architectural landmark. There’s a youthfulness about this building, a feeling of play, of experiment. Those are qualities an art school ought to have. Read more at:
http://articles.boston.com/2012-05-13/arts/31653663_1_panels-pastel-chalks-design

Gender Neutral Dorms Create Safer Environment For Gay Students

High school seniors looking forward to departing for college now have a new wrinkle in dorm life to consider, courtesy of the Rutgers University webcam trial. In the wake of Tyler Clementi's death in 2010, the gay community at Rutgers University lobbied for "gender-neutral" housing in which men and women could be roommates. The thinking was that a gay student might feel more comfortable — or even safer — rooming with a female friend. At the Newark campus of Rutgers, a pilot program placing 16 students in gender-neutral rooms has gone so smoothly, Angelita Bonilla, associate dean of housing and residence life, calls it "a godsend." Read more at:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/more_gay-straight_dorms_on_col.html

New Dorm Will Promote On-Site Residential Learning

Aiming to expand its "residential academic programs" to eventually reach all students, the University of Colorado is building a new dormThe dorm -- in the Kittredge Complex on CU's main campus -- will serve as an overflow for students enrolled in increasingly popular residential academic programs, which are modeled after those at Ivy League schools and blend living and learning. The $37.25 million project -- funded by auxiliary revenue generated by Housing and Dining Services -- will house about 265 students and will include larger classrooms than the seminar rooms in previously renovated dorms. Read more at:
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_20125429/cu-boulder-expanding-dorm-based-learning

More IHEs Turning To The Private Sector For Dorm Construction And Management

With state budgets tight and demand for a college education at a high point, public universities across the country are increasingly turning to the private sector to build and finance on-campus dormitories. states found that companies that specialize in student housing could build residence halls more rapidly and cheaply than universities could. They can ease the burden of being a landlord. And perhaps most important, these partnerships free capital for facilities like classrooms and laboratories. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/realestate/commercial/public-college-private-dorm.html?_r=1&ref=education

Hong Kong College Students Want A Capsule Dormitory

About a dozen local students had expressed interest in a capsule college dormitory near campus, offering pods for HK$3,500 a month. "Students are affected by a severe lack of space in university housing, so we thought, why not do dorm rooms as well?" Wong said. Campus dormitories are nearly unavailable due to long waiting lists for the inexpensively-priced rooms and tough entrance requirements. While there are no firm dates for launching a capsule dorm, Wong said one could open once there is interest from at least 15 students of the same gender. Read more at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/uk-hongkong-dorms-capsules-idUSLNE80F01920120116

Students Moving Back Into The Dome Dorms At UC Davis

Five months after they were ordered vacated, igloo-like housing units known as the Domes have reopened to students at UC Davis. Students have moved back into some of the 14 units in advance of the start of winter classes. University officials had announced in February 2011 that they would cease to offer leases for the prefabricated fiberglass-and-foam huts – erected in the early 1970s as an experiment in sustainable living – saying the structures were falling apart. In March, the Solar Community Housing Association proposed to step in as a third-party management group, repair the Domes and lease them to students for the next five years. Read more at:
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/09/4172579/uc-davis-students-are-moving-back.html

This Campus Uses Foreclosed McMansions For Student Dorm Rooms

While students at other colleges cram into shoebox-size dorm rooms, Ms. Alarab, a management major, and Ms. Foster, who is studying applied math, come home from midterms to chill out under the stars in a curvaceous swimming pool and an adjoining Jacuzzi behind the rapidly depreciating McMansion that they have rented for a song. Here in Merced, a city in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley and one of the country’s hardest hit by home foreclosures, the downturn in the real estate market has presented an unusual housing opportunity for thousands of college students. Facing a shortage of dorm space, they are moving into hundreds of luxurious homes in overbuilt planned communities. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/us/homework-and-jacuzzis-as-dorms-move-to-mcmansions-in-california.html?partner=rss&emc=rss 

 

Gender Neutral Locker Rooms Are The Next Frontier

This year, the private liberal arts college on the Iowa prairie has added a gender-neutral locker room to its mix of gender-neutral options. It's the most recent step for the school, which became the state's only college to offer a gender-neutral dorm option three years ago as part of a growing trend nationwide. t Grinnell, the gender-neutral idea was driven by transgender students, those who don't identify themselves as either male or female, and students transitioning from one gender to the other, students and school officials said. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-11-09/gender-neutral-college/51134546/1

Enrollment Is Booming But It Strains The Dorm And Food Systems

The University of Washington's largest ever freshman class has left undergraduate housing more crowded than ever. UW's Housing and Food Services has had to strain to accommodate as many students as possible. There are 846 students living in Terry Hall this year, compared to 624 last year. Many rooms that once held two students have been converted to triples. Read more at:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2016460822_uwhousing11m.html